Hengist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A legendary fifth-century Germanic leader who, according to tradition, helped the Anglo-Saxons settle Britain with his brother Horsa
2. The semi-mythical Jutish warrior traditionally credited with leading early Saxon invaders into Britain together with his brother Horsa
3. Name of a half-legendary Anglo-Saxon chief said to have conquered parts of Britain alongside his sibling Horsa in the fifth century

Etymology: Hengist was, in legend, one of the two Saxon brothers who led the first Germanic settlers into Britain, the other being Horsa. The name is the Old English word for "stallion," and it is easy to see why a horse name suited a warrior hero: the early English kept horse symbolism close to their leaders, and the twin brothers' names both point to horses. Horsa means "horse" as well, so the pair reads almost like a joke about horsepower, though the stories themselves were written down centuries after any real settlement. The Old English form "hengest" is the same word that gave later English its "gelding" cousins in meaning, though "hengest" itself meant a stallion rather than a castrated horse. The name survives in place names and literature as a figure of early English myth, and it first appears as a personal name in the chronicles written about the migration period.